25-Year-Old Bodybuilding Mother Of 2 Found Dead In Apartment From Protein Overdose

A bodybuilder mom died earlier this summer, reportedly of a protein overdose due to an undiagnosed medical issue, People magazine reported.

Australian Meegan Hefford, 25, had an urea cycle disorder, which interferes with the body’s ability to break down protein. As Hefford prepared for a September bodybuilding competition, she consumed protein supplements to bulk up, Perth Now reported.

Shortly before her death, Hefford told her mom that she was feeling “weird” and exhausted, which her mother believed was due to all the exercise she had been doing.

A post shared by • MEEGAN HEFFORD • (@meeganheff) on May 9, 2017 at 9:00pm PDT

But on June 19, she was discovered unconscious in her apartment. After two days in the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with urea cycle disorder. By that point, her brain was flooded with fluid, and she was declared brain dead the following day.

Hefford had two children, ages 7 and 5.

“I know there are people other than Meegan who have ended up in hospital because they’ve overloaded on supplements,” said her mother, Michelle White, to Perth Now. “The sale of these products needs to be more regulated.”